Business community unites for Office Friendly fundraiser

A team of volunteers from the Office Friendly cooperative took part in a six mile fundraising walkathon to support two Sheffield charities.

The first stop along the route was with the green-fingered founders of Crookes Community Farm, a project set up just two years ago by brothers, Rob and Tchad Western, to help young people connect with nature by seeing sustainable agriculture in action.

Rob Western said: “It was a real pleasure to have the Office Friendly Team at Crookes Community Farm, as they were undertaking a physical challenge we thought we would add to this by getting them to lug hay bales and scaffold poles around the site.

“I think the idea of assisting a few community projects and walking between each is a wonderful way for a business to undertake a charity challenge and we are happy to assist any other companies that want to follow in their footsteps.”

Office Friendly’s second destination was at the City of Sanctuary, a support centre which helps change the lives of destitute asylum seekers. Here the team helped to renovate the building with a fresh lick of paint, before returning to their base to complete the six mile hike.

Jan Thompson from City of Sanctuary said: “It was so helpful to have a team come in and help us with the decorating and it definitely took some of the pressure off our team. The volunteers were friendly and did a great job, they quickly got on with the job in hand and even cleaned up afterwards.”

The initiative, which was supported by partners, South Yorkshire Community Foundation (SYCF), doubled up as a fundraiser. The walkathon was supported by Office Friendly’s socially-charged community, and funds raised will go back into the local community to help young people in need.

“It’s amazing to see the group, our members, and the wider community come together to support such worthy causes,” said Adam Anson, chief organiser and Marketing Manager at Office Friendly.

“As a cooperative, we feel energised by the positive impact we can have. It just goes to show how much we can achieve when we all come together with a sense of purpose. This is really just the start.”

Earlier this year, the Office Friendly Community Foundation donated a significant amount of clothes to Sheena Amos and The Suit Works, enacted separate cycling and running fundraisers, hosted a blind auction for charity and ran an Easter raffle.

Sonia Bielaszewska, Philanthropy Development and Research Officer at SYCF said: “The Office Friendly team are so motivated to raise money for the local region alongside SYCF and we can’t wait to see what they get up to next!”